How Oklahoma State Basketball’s 2026 Recruiting Class Raises Expectations

Now that recruiting rankings are set in stone, it’s clear just how much Steve Lutz has raised the expectations for Oklahoma State basketball next season.

Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Steve Lutz. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Since the season ended, the focus for Oklahoma State men's basketball has been on assembling talent through the transfer portal. It's easy to forget that head coach Steve Lutz and his staff have signed one of the best classes recruiting classes in the country.

The reminder came last week as 247 Sports finalized its Class of 2026 recruiting rankings. With that, every major recruiting services ranked the Cowboys as a Top 10 class in the country.

The service ranked the Cowboys No. 7 in its overall composite ranking, its highest recruiting class rankings per the site since 2005. With that, Lutz has raised the bar on what Cowboys fans should expect from the team next season.

Resetting OSU’s Expectations in 2026-27

Latrell Allmond (24) during the McDonalds All American Boys Game at Desert Diamond Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Cowboys signed a four-player class, three of which were finalized as four-start recruits per 247 Sports. Those four-star players included Latrell Allmond, a 6-8 forward who played at Petersburg High School in Richmond, Va.; guard Anthony Felisi, a 6-5 guard from Utah Prep in Orem, Utah; and forward Jalen Montonati, a 6-7 forward from Owasso, Okla.

All three finished in the Top 100 in the site’s final national rankings. The other member is guard Parker Robinson, who played with Overtime Elite in Atlanta and was ranked No. 156.

Lutz has recruited the kind of class that can have an impact on the Cowboys like other Big 12 programs saw from their true freshmen last season. Arizona is a great example. Coach Tommy Lloyd lured a couple of top 100 recruits before last season in Koa Peat and Brayden Burries. The pair were starters from the beginning of the season and helped the Wildcats reach the Final Four.

The Cowboys aren't necessarily looking for that kind of an impact, but Lutz has failed to get the program to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons. Oklahoma State has settled for a berth in the NIT. Settling for NIT berths is what led the Cowboys to move on from Mike Boynton Jr. and hire Lutz after the 2023-24 season.

If a couple of these freshmen can have the sort of impact that Peat and Burries had at Arizona, then Lutz has a shot at getting the Cowboys back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021, when Boynton got them there with Cade Cunningham. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft that June.

OSU will need more than just the freshmen to get there, though. Lutz has assembled a transfer class that includes Arizona State guard Andrija Grbovic, North Carolina guard Luka Bogavac, Georgetown center Julius Halaifonua, Sam Houston guard Kashie Natt and Sam Houston guard Jacob Walker.

But, players like Allmond and Felisi can give the Cowboys an immediate boost, one that can propel them back to the NCAA Tournament.